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Creative Current - Music and Comedy to brighten up the Winter

Nadine Davenport's bi-monthly roundup of music and theatre in the surrounding area.

Potluck Fiesta & Dance with Locarno Jan 18

Creative Cow Concerts presents a Mexican Latin Fiesta Potluck & Dance with Vancouver-based band Locarno. Don’t miss a community celebration with food and dancing at Ashcroft’s St Albans Hall (501 Brink St.) on Fri., Jan. 18. This has been changed to an all ages no alcohol event, everyone welcome. For more info call Andrea and Nadine at (250) 453-9100.

Locarno is led by Tom Landa of the Vancouver-based music group The Paperboys. With Locarno, Landa draws on his Mexican roots to create a compelling sound. This seven-piece ensemble (fiddle, trumpet, trombone, drums, guitar, bass and vocals) blends Son Jarocho, Salsa, and broader traditions of South America to make irresistible Latin-Canadian music.

Bring something to share with a Mexican theme for the Potluck Mexican feast that starts at 5:30 pm with music at 7:30 pm. Tickets at the door with a suggested donation for Adults and Seniors and Kids and Teens FREE! Complimentary (non-alcoholic) Sangria! Plus, for the kids – we’ll have a piñata!

This is a performance to make your heart sing and your toes dance. Ole!

Improv Theatre and Comedy Nights

Last weekend over 30 participants came to two very successful Theatre and Comedy Improv workshops facilitated by two local talents, actress and director Mavourneen Varcoe-Ryan and stand up comedian Tracey Knihnitski.

Now comes the chance for those same daring folks to try out what they learned at a Live local performance, presented by Winding Rivers Arts and Performance Society.

Come and support our local talent for four nights of exciting and fun Improv Theatre and Comedy on Wednesdays at Shelley’s Place (301 3rd St.) in Ashcroft from 7-9 pm on Jan. 16, 30 and Feb. 6 and 20. Free admission, kids, teens and adults welcome. For more info (250) 453-9100 www.windingriversarts.ca

Lillooet Music presents Annie Lou

Lillooet Music Society presents string band ‘Annie Lou’ on Jan. 24 at the Lillooet Masonic Lodge (251 Taylor Rd.). Doors open at 7 pm, show at 7:30 pm. Tickets available at or phone

Annie Lou is built around the original song writing of Anne Louise Genest, who lived in the Yukon woods for 20 years. Now relocated to the balmier shores of Vancouver Island, Genest carries the spirit of an old storyteller inside her, and this voice, mixed with the stringband sounds of fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and upright bass, traces a journey through days gone by to the here and now.

Genest founded Annie Lou after finding herself drawn to old time mountain and traditional country music. “This music has a profound edge to it - there in the voices and in the playing is the lament we all carry as people trying to get by in this beautiful, terrible world,” she says.

Beautifully crafted songs range from rousing and boisterous to gentle and poignant, and map a homescape of hard-drinking grandmas, rural dancehalls, blue-collar fashions, and the deep snows and silences of a Canadian winter. www.lillooetmusic.com

Cache Creek Family Movie Night us back!

The Village of Cache Creek presents a Family Movie Night featuring the animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift. Bring the entire family for a night of great entertainment at the Cache Creek Community Hall on Saturday, Jan. 26. Doors open at 6:30 pm, Movie starts at 7 pm. A special animated short film will also be shown before the feature.

Popcorn and goodies purchased at the concession support the Cache Creek Elementary School’s Parent Advisory Council. No outside food or drinks, please. Children must be supervised and remain seated and quiet during the movie please. Admission is by donation at the door.

Steven Palmer at the Packing House

The Packing House in Spences Bridge hosts another great Dinner Show with singer-songwriter Steven Palmer on Sun., Jan. 27. Dinner starts at 5:30 pm with the show to follow. Call the Packing House at 250-458-2256 for reservations.

Depending on who you ask, Steven Palmer’s voice is like “a cool shady tree on a hot summer’s day” or  “a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night”. Add together his smooth Travis-style picking, his accomplished 12 string guitar picking, and his 40 plus years of touring experience and the result is a smooth, sweet, and versatile performer. Drawing his inspiration from country and folk legends like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Merle Travis and The Carter Family, Steven Palmer presents a joyous blending of ‘original and traditional’ Country/Folk, Gospel, Blues, and Ragtime.

House Concert with Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra

Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra will be returning to the Ashcroft area for a House Concert on Tues., Feb. 12, hosted by Creative Cow House Concerts in Barnes Lake (just 12 minutes from downtown Ashcroft).

Call it folk - call it fusion, call it gypsy roots tango afro psychedelic soul, the harmonic and toe-tapping tunes of Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra will no doubt be cause for an entertaining evening.

The show starts at 7:30 pm and the house location is at 3820 Barnes Lake Rd, just past IG Machine. Call Nadine or Andrea at (250) 453-9100 to reserve your seat. Hope to some new faces at this very enjoyable community event. Coffee, tea and sweets provided.

Nadine Davenport